This account is pending registration confirmation. Please click on the link within the confirmation email previously sent you to complete registration.Need a new registration confirmation email? Click here

Stock Futures Rise Marginally; Salesforce Charges Ahead

NEW YORK (
TheStreet) --
S&P 500 futures were trading just incrementally higher Friday and pointing to a third day of gains heading into the Labor Day weekend in the U.S. as investor concerns about a U.S.-led air strike on Syria moved to the backburner. The market typically drifts higher on light volumes ahead of a long weekend.

Still, futures were sharply cutting gains following a tepid gauge of consumer activity in the U.S.

British lawmakers on Thursday night voted to reject any motion that would pave the way for British participation in military actions against the Assad regime in Syria following reports of government-initiated chemical attacks in the country's suburbs. The U.K. would have been a key ally supporting the U.S. in any such action.

Futures for the
S&P 500 were rising 0.5 points, or 0.98 points above fair value, to 1,637.25. Futures for the
Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 4 points, or 5.05 points above fair value, to 14,830. Futures for the
Nasdaq were up 3.5 points, or 0.54 points above fair value, to 3,093.

Friday marks the last trading session of the month. Major U.S. stock indices looked to have logged their worst performance in August in more than a year, weighed down by concerns about potential
Federal Reserve tapering in September, the U.S. fiscal budget negotiations coming up in the fall, and worries about any devastating global impact that could arise from an attack on Syria.

U.S. stocks showed modest gains Thursday on stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth combined with a drop in jobless claims while fears of an imminent U.S. military intervention against Syria appeared to be easing after President Barack Obama indicated that he has not yet arrived at any firm decision to act.

Salesforce.com(CRM - Get Report) shares were surging 9% to $47.58 in premarket trading Friday after the cloud computing company posted fiscal second-quarter earnings on Thursday that topped Wall Street expectations as revenue jumped 31%. Salesforce.com also provided guidance for the year above analysts' views.

Salesforce.com's adjusted earnings for the quarter were 9 cents a share; analysts were looking for 7 cents a share. Revenue in the period was $957.1 million, up from $731.6 million a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of $937.8 million.

Apache(APA - Get Report) was gaining 7.07% to $84.20 after saying Friday it would sell a 33% stake in its Egypt operation to China's
Sinopec for $3.1 billion. Apache said the sale is a first step in forming a global partnership to pursue oil and gas projects.